Dwyane Wade Says Even Bulls Didn't Expect to Be Up 2-0 in Celtics Series

Chicago Bulls shooting guard Dwyane Wade admitted Thursday even players inside the Bulls locker room are a little surprised they grabbed a 2-0 first-round series lead over the Boston Celtics on the road.

Nick Friedell of ESPN.com passed along comments from the three-time NBA champion, who feels the Eastern Conference's No. 8 seed "earned" the advantage, even if it was unexpected:

We're a confident team, but you don't think you're going into Boston and get two. You're just trying to get one, that's your focus. But once you've got that one, now it's just another game. Now you got to try and get the next one. But coming in, I didn't say, "Hey, we're going to be up 2-0 on Boston." No one thought that. But we are in this position and we've earned it.

Wade added: "We've played very well. I'm sure they did some things that they want to improve on and they can do better at, but we have too, so we'll take it."

Boston used a late surge, including a 7-3 record over its last 10 games and a three-game winning streak to finish the regular season, to overtake the reigning champion Cleveland Cavaliers for the top seed in the East heading into the playoffs.

Meanwhile, Chicago only qualified for the postseason because of a head-to-head tiebreaker advantage over the Miami Heat. Both squads ended the campaign at 41-41.

The fact the Celtics were 12 games better during the regular season hasn't mattered during the early stages of the series. They've squandered home-court advantage as the Bulls won by four in Game 1 and rolled to a 14-point rout in Game 2.

Boston head coach Brad Stevens said during a WBZ radio interview Wednesday he hoped a little time off before the series shifted to the Windy City would help, per CBS Boston.

"We have no choice but to focus on Friday, and that's what we'll do," he said. "We have some guys in here shooting right now on an off day. But I think it will be good, for the most part, to separate for a day and get our minds fresh, get ready tomorrow to prepare for our best game on Friday."

ESPN Stats and Info pointed out history is now firmly on Chicago's side:

ESPN Stats & Info @ESPNStatsInfo

Celtics are 24th team to lose Games 1 and 2 at home in best-of-7 series
20 of prev 23 lost series (last to win: 2005 Mavericks vs Rockets) https://t.co/bszpnz3Lol